See You in Hell
by catthegreat
Summary: It started as an ordinary day with Naruto meeting his long time boyfriend - Sasuke - to work on homework. But the blond should've paid more attention to the strange behavior of those around him. Now the world's gone to Hell in a handbasket, and the two of them are kept constantly moving just to stay alive. Early Halloween Fic.


_Written in (early) celebration of Halloween. Enjoy._

* * *

"Keep quiet," someone muttered. They were blockaded inside what appeared to be a library. The windows were boarded up; the only way in or out was the door they'd come through, which was now blocked by some upturned tables and chairs.

There were five in the room, all looking the worse for wear. Weeks of running could do that to a person. There were sounds of shuffling in the hallway and one of the girls – Hinata, he thought her name was – made a sound somewhere close to a whimper. A boy with tattoos on his cheeks pulled her close to his chest and whispered something that must've been comfort in her ears.

The pink haired girl with them tipped her head over the tables they were crouching behind, trying to see out the small window in the entrance. "They're still out there. Just wandering." She spoke barely above a whisper, not wanting to draw attention to the group.

Naruto was impressed with her; when they first found the girl – who still refused to tell them her real name – she'd been curled up on herself, shaking and repeating the name "Ino" over and over again. It took a few days after that to get her to start helping them, but one day she just snapped. In a fit of anger – supported by seemingly endless yelling – she'd single handedly fought a hoard of…whatever those things were…off them, saving everyone in the process.

"So what now?" Tattoo Face asked, and everyone turned their eyes toward Naruto and the raven haired man next to him.

It was the raven who answered, not bothering to whisper, but dropping his voice to a low enough pitch the things outside wouldn't hear him. "We wait."

"Wait for what? No help is coming, in case you forgot. The rest of the city is like this too."

"Calm down." This time it was the pink-haired girl who responded.

"Why?" His voice was quickly rising toward hysterics. "What good is staying calm possibly going to do?"

"Kiba-kun…" The girl muttered, tears streaming freely down her cheeks now.

In a flash, the blond haired man was on top of tattooed boy, hand pressed over his mouth, a murderous look on his face. "You'll calm down because I'm not risking letting you kill us. If dying is something you want so bad; I can arrange something."

"Naruto…" Sasuke muttered warningly.

"Otherwise," Naruto continued mercilessly, "you and your crazy suicidal thoughts can just _shut up_." None of it was spoken above a whisper, but it was enough.

Sasuke cleared his throat, bring the attention back to him. "Now. If that's settled, I'll clarify." Naruto moved his hand from the other's mouth, sitting back off Tattoo Face's body. Sasuke ignored him and continued. "We're _waiting_ until those things wander away from here, and we can get out."

"And what if they don't?"

"You seem eager to die. I'm sure a distraction of some form can be arranged."

If looks could kill, Naruto was positive Sasuke would've burned to a crisp where he sat. But Tattoo Face didn't say anything else. No one did. They just all sat back silently and did what it felt like they'd been doing a lot of lately: waited.

* * *

It had been a fairly normal day: partly cloudy, 65o Fahrenheit, traffic problems getting into the city. There was no indication – no warning at all – that the world was about to go to hell.

The first sign something was wrong was a man on the subway. He was sitting on the seat, rocking back and forth, muttering to himself about something. It was scaring people around him; even Naruto didn't want to get too close. He was glad when he reached his stop and could get off. He didn't bother looking back and so didn't see the man stand up, didn't hear the screams when he suddenly bit into a woman's neck, ripping out half her muscle just as the subway moved on to its next destination.

Instead, Naruto bobbed his head along to the music coming from his headphones and walked up the stairs into the sunlight. He was on his way to the library, plans to meet with his boyfriend to 'study' filling his head. Ironically, it was that same library he'd find himself in weeks later after the world had ended.

People were starting to act weird on the streets. He saw more homeless people than normal stumbling about, already drunk. A woman screamed when one of the men approached her and tried to bite her arm. She shook him off easily enough with the help of a few other people wandering around before continuing on her way.

Naruto himself managed to make it to the library without any more weird incidents happening, and was grateful for the silence the large stacks of books offered. Sasuke was already there, laptop and textbooks out, typing away at something he assumed was his literature essay. The blond snuck up behind him, considering placing his hands over his eyes by form of greeting when the raven spoke. "I know what you're thinking, dobe, and if you value your life you won't."

A dejected sigh escaped his lips as he collapsed into the chair across from Sasuke. "How do you always know?"

"Because I have eyes in the back of my head," the raven responded, turning a page absently.

"Har har." Naruto pulled his own laptop and textbooks out of his bag. He had some history homework due tomorrow he needed to finish. Well, he had to start it first. He groaned when he pulled the homework up from the website. It was longer than it looked.

"Do you even do your homework without me?"

"No…" Ugh. That was what he got for taking a class on the history of medicine.

"What is it this time?" The other's voice was bored; he'd had this conversation too many times to care much anymore.

"Spanish Flu. 'Write a brief essay about how the influenza pandemic in 1918 affected the medical field around the globe.'" He recited. "This is going to take forever."

An entertained smirk played across Sasuke's lips. "Ah yes, but at least it says brief."

The blond shot a deadly glare at his boyfriend. "Shut up."

At that moment a loud crash from below drew both of their attentions. They rushed over to the side of the balcony and looked into the main area on the first floor. "Tch," Sasuke remarked. "Some idiot ran into the bookshelves." He looked slyly at the blond. "I wonder if you've ever done that before."

"Teme…" Naruto growled in warning. He would've said more, but his thoughts were cut off by a high pitched screech from below.

One of the younger librarians was backing away from the student who had run into the bookshelf. He was approaching her slowly, dragging one leg behind him as if it were broken, but it wasn't that which drew everyone's attention. He was emitting some kind of noise. And it wasn't human.

"Oy!" A larger boy Naruto had seen in one of his pre-med classes approached the boy. "Back off, man. You're scaring her." The boy in question turned toward Naruto's classmate and began advancing on him instead. This scene looked so familiar, like something out of a movie. Suddenly, a second before it happened, he knew.

"No!" Naruto shouted, right as the boy bit down on the other's neck. Naruto's classmate let out a yell, which was soon cut off as his larynx was ripped from his throat by the crazy kid's teeth. The moment of silence which had filled the library was broken at once, the entire building dissolving into chaos.

Naruto ran back toward the table he and Sasuke had been sitting at, ignoring the noise around them. He struggled for a while trying to fit his textbook into his backpack sideways when a vice-like grip was on his wrist, and Naruto looked up to see Sasuke staring straight at him. "We need to go. Now."

"I – I just need to – to grab…" His voice was shaking. This wasn't real. This was only in movies right? People didn't just…

"Naruto." Sasuke was looking at him still. "Leave the book." The book was pried from his hand, the backpack zipped and placed on his shoulders. He noticed absently that Sasuke had his on already. "Let's go."

And then they were running. They made it to one of the side stairwells – the main was too crowded – but when Naruto made to go down, Sasuke tugged him up. "What are you doing? We can't get out that way."

"We're going up."

"Why? The streets are down there."

"And so are those things. Think, Naruto. You play video games. What do you think is happening down there?"

"But…those games…they aren't real…" Still, he'd let himself get pulled up the stairs. They didn't stop until they'd reached the roof. One thing about City University; the door to the roof was never locked. Sasuke paused for a moment, dropping Naruto's hand, before running to a large bench.

"Well?" He called. "Are you going to help me move this or not?" With a start, Naruto ran over and helped him lift the bench, and use it to bar the door entrance. By now, the initial shock was starting to wear off; he had played a lot of video games after all.

"So what now, genius? We're trapped up here. No food, no weapons."

"There's the Naruto I know. For a moment I was worried you'd gone all 'damsel in distress' on me."

"This isn't funny, Sasuke. We're stuck on a roof in the middle of the city, and those zombie creatures are down there where all the food and weapons are."

"You said so yourself: we're on a roof in the middle of a city. What do you think I am? Stupid?"

Naruto was about to open his mouth and say 'hell yeah I think you're stupid', when the meaning behind the words hit him. He looked around. Sure enough, all the buildings around here were so close – some practically touching – and all of moderately close height. "You want us to leap from building to building?"

The raven raised a single eyebrow, not missing the disbelief present in Naruto's voice. "Do you have a better idea?"

The blond sighed. "No. I don't."

"Well then."

Naruto walked out toward the edge of the roof and glanced down at the chaos below them. "And what after that?"

"Well you said you wanted weapons and food. There's a knife store and grocer down a few blocks."

The blond stared at Sasuke for a few moments before deciding that he definitely didn't want to know how his bastard of a boyfriend knew that. Instead he judged the distance between the library and the building next to it and walked back a few feet. "If this is like a video game, I'd say we have maybe ten minutes until it gets that far."

Sasuke was right next to him. "Better be going then." Naruto gave him a forced grin before they made a running leap off the library.

* * *

It had been several hours since Sasuke's initial decision that they wait it out in the library. Naruto and the others had pulled some canned food out from their backpacks and were eating it as silently as they could. The raven, in the meantime, was watching the creatures in the hallway with a singular interest.

To nobody's surprise, Tattoo Face spoke up again. "So this waiting plan sucks." Rather than respond, Sasuke fixed him with his trademark Uchiha glare. Apparently he didn't get the hint. "I mean if the goal was to sit here and wait for us to slowly die of starvation, then bravo, man. Bravo." With that, he tipped over his can where a single drop of liquid fell on the floor.

Naruto opened his mouth to retort that if _he_ had a better plan then _he _was more than welcome to voice it. But Pink Hair spoke up before he could. "He's right you know."

Naruto's mouth snapped shut.

"We've been sitting here long enough. They're bound to smell us out eventually. And even if they don't, what do we do? We're out of food, bullets, and our clothes are covered in so much blood I can't tell if anyone's been bitten anymore."

"Hey, give him some credit." Naruto jumped to his boyfriend's defense. "If it weren't for us, you'd still be stuck on your ass crying about –"

"Enough, Naruto." Sasuke turned his cold look on the blond. "They have a point. This isn't the safest place to wait, and those things aren't going anywhere."

Tattoo Face snorted. "Great. Now that pretty boy finally agrees" – Naruto let out a growl of warning – "how are we supposed to get out of here?"

"I believe we mentioned a time we might need a distraction earlier," the blond snarled.

"Naruto…"

"There's got to be another way out." Pink Hair spoke up.

A light-bulb sparked in the blond's head. "Hey, Sasuke. Remember how we ended up escaping the first time?"

A dark eyebrow raised itself. "You mean the roof?"

"We are not going out on the roof!" Tattoo Face exclaimed. A sudden bang into the door halted any further conversation for a moment.

"Well it's that or sacrifice your ass, now that you've alerted them," Naruto hissed.

"How are we even getting onto the roof?" Pink Hair asked.

"Easy. Climb up there from out the window. We can use the ledges or something."

"Naruto-kun, I don't think that's possible…" Hinata finally joined in.

"You've been playing too many video games, idiot. That shit can't be done in real life." This was Tattoo Face.

"What makes you think there's even a way up at all?" Pink Hair's eyes narrowed.

But it wasn't their opinions that mattered. While they were all sitting there pointing out the faults in the plan, Naruto watched Sasuke for a reaction. After a few moments, the raven gave a barely noticeable nod. It was possible. "Right, that's settled then." He stood up, Sasuke following.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tattoo Face hissed.

Naruto glared down at him. "Climbing out the window. And if you want to live, Tattoo Face, then I suggest you join us."

It was Pink Hair who stood up first, but was soon followed by Hinata and finally Tattoo Face. Together, they moved the blockade in front of one of the windows as quietly as they could. It was a good thing they were on the third floor; it meant they weren't faced with any undead when the window was cleared. They grabbed the last of what was blocking it, Naruto pulling the window open silently. A bird outside squawked, and with a gasp Hinata dropped what she was holding on the ground. Naruto watched the brick fall in slow motion, dreading what would happen when it landed. With a responding BANG, it hit the ground.

The result was instantaneous. Inhuman wails came from the hallway, and the door started shaking as if the creatures were repeatedly running into it. There was no time to think. "Move!" Naruto shouted, all but shoving Tattoo Face out the window. He let out a girlish squeak and fell back on his butt into the room. "What are you doing?! Move!" Naruto yelled again. The banging from the door was growing stronger.

"We can't make that, man. There's no way."

Naruto stuck his head out the window, looking first down then up. There were some uneven bricks and a large pipe nailed into the wall that would aid their ascent along with the ledges. He brought his head back inside. "Looks fine to me."

A louder crash then before drew their attention. The door was starting to splinter, the desk holding it in place would be no match if it broke. They had to go. Now.

"Ok, fine. I'll go first, you follow. Do exactly as I do." He disappeared out the window and started climbing, not checking to see if the others were behind him. It wasn't until Naruto was at the edge of the roof and managed to pull himself over, that he looked back. He breathed a sigh of relief; they were right behind him. He reached out his hand to pull up Tattoo Face and Pink Hair. Hinata and Sasuke were nowhere to be found.

A screech from below announced their appearance. Sasuke shoved Hinata roughly out the window, where she climbed up slowly, carefully. Too slow. Sasuke was barely out the window, when one of the things grabbed his leg. "Sasuke!" Naruto called out. The raven in question kicked the zombie in the face and managed to crawl out further before it had him again. "Sasuke!" Shit, he had to get down there. Sasuke reached down with his free hand and pulled the creature out, throwing it three stories down to the ground.

"I'm fine! Keep moving!" He yelled to the frozen girl above. But the things below the building had heard them, had noticed the body falling from the window, and were now howling in that inhuman way, charging the building and trying to climb.

"Um…Naruto?" Tattoo Face pulled the blond around. Zombies on the roof. Great. Pink Hair helped Hinata over the top, and Sasuke wasn't far behind her. "Brilliant," the raven muttered as he stood by Naruto.

Naruto turned to the others. "Our goal is the outskirts of the city, away from people. Got it?" He pulled out his weapon; a sheathed katana. The others were taking their own weapons out of their respective backpacks as well. "See you in Hell!" He yelled, before charging into the hoard, Sasuke on his heels.

* * *

They managed to get to and from the store without any difficulties. The place was abandoned and unlocked, so they just took what they needed and left. Others were in there doing the same thing, no one getting in anyone's way yet. The chaos hadn't reached this area after all.

Naruto had wanted some ninja throwing stars and shurinken, but Sasuke asked what he was going to do when he ran out. Instead, he settled on a kick ass katana, Sasuke taking a similar one.

The grocery store was a bit worse for wear. People were practically clawing each other to get what they wanted, and the poor cashiers were still trying to do their jobs. Naruto and Sasuke wandered through the aisles, mostly ignoring them, and grabbing canned foods instead. Naruto figured that – if this were a zombie apocalypse – all the other foods would go bad, but they could carry cans and nuts and chips all they wanted, and they'd still be good.

They bypassed the cashiers and people fighting when they left. The block was now in a state of complete chaos, but there were none of those creatures to be found. They continued to walk away from the campus library they'd been, and closer to the bridges that would take them home, trying to look inconspicuous.

A gunshot rang out, causing the crowd in the street to panic and start running in ten different directions at once. Naruto was shoved nearly over, only to have his arm caught by Sasuke. He was yanked roughly up. "Let's move," the raven whispered, and the two of them slipped down a dark alley everyone else seemed to be avoiding.

They climbed the ladder up again, but rather than going the whole way to the roof, Naruto felt his leg pulled roughly through one of the windows and fell crashing into the apartment. A zombie stood over him, growling in an animalistic fashion, before it lunged at him. He barely had time to roll over before it smashed into the ground where his face had just been. "Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, jumping into the room.

The blond flipped over, trying to see where his brand new katana had gone. Just his luck, it was across the room under the dining table. He dodged the next attack by leaping to his feet. But the next one had him pinned to the ground. The thing growled at him again, the sicky sweet smell normally associated with death and decay in Naruto's nose. It was all over.

Thunk!

Naruto blinked as the zombie fell off him, lifeless. Standing above him was a somewhat familiar looking brunette wielding a frying pan. "Tch." He turned his head and saw Sasuke standing there too, katana raised in the air.

"Gotta be quicker than that, lover boy. Next time they might not wait so long before taking a bite." The girl tossed the pan to the side with a clatter, before holding her hand out to Naruto and pulling him upright. "You alright, gorgeous?" Naruto stood there blinking a moment, not entirely sure what had just happened.

"Rei." Sasuke spoke up. "Didn't expect to see you here."

The girl named Rei shrugged. "Friend lives in the building. I heard the cries of distress and decided to help."

"Tch." Sasuke responded. Naruto looked back and forth between the two of them trying to place where he knew her from. Finally it hit him.

"You're Itachi's fiancé. Right?"

Rei's attention turned back toward him before she winked cheekily. "That I sure am. And you must be the illusive Naruto. Sasuke's told me _so much_ about you."

Naruto flushed red to his ears. The raven simply walked up behind her and smacked the back of her head. Rei let out a fake cry of distress. "Don't go around telling lies, witch."

"Aw, Sasuke-chan. You know it hurts when you call me witch." Her eyes had this puppy look to them which was apparently not working. Naruto just watched the two of them. He'd heard Sasuke talk about his future sister in law, Rei, a few times before, but nothing ever indicated they had this kind of relationship. Whenever the raven had spoken of her, his tone always held a certain amount of respect. Naruto had always thought she was like some noble woman; proper and worthy of the Uchiha name.

Seeing them interact in person threw him for a loop. Sasuke was talking to her like she was some kind of pesky insect, and she was acting like the crazy cousin everyone hated. It was puzzling.

"Where's Niisan?" Sasuke's voice brought him out of his reverie.

Naruto noticed the barely perceivable furrowing of the girl's eyebrows as she responded. "I don't know. We were supposed to go to dinner tonight, but obviously that's not happening. I only hope he stayed out of the city." She gazed out the window, a faraway look in her eyes. A minute shake of her head and she was gazing at the two of them again. "Anyways, what say you, me, and that lover boy of yours get out of here?" She shot another wink at Naruto.

"No. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're crazy."

"Aw come on. It'll be fun."

"Only a witch would find any of this fun."

"You're so mean Sasuke-chaaaaan."

As fun as it would be to sit there and watch the two of them argue – Naruto had figured out Sasuke didn't mean any of the hurtful things he was saying, based on the slight amusement in the raven's eyes – they really did need to get out of there. "Sasuke," the raven's head jerked back toward Naruto, as if he'd forgotten the blond was standing there. "She has a point. We need to get out of here, and we're all headed to the same place anyways."

"See? Romeo here can see reason." She looked him up and down, a mischievous grin on her face. "Or is he Juliet? A hot piece of ass like that –"

"Enough. Rei, we'll go with you if you could _please_ stop with the innuendos." Sasuke was rubbing his temples, while Naruto was once again a brilliant shade of red.

He managed to bring himself under a bit of control before responding. "Yeah, let's go. Rei, are you bringing your friend along?" He looked uncomfortably to the side, not wanting to hear more theories about which one of them _topped_ –

"She's not coming." Startled, Naruto looked back at the brunette. Her face was cold, hard to read.

"Why not?"

A flash of something that could've been sadness flew across her face before it was gone, replaced by a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Things to do. People to see. The usual. I'm sure it doesn't matter."

"Rei." Sasuke spoke again.

The grin faltered a second, before planting itself back on her face. It was colder this time, not even pretending to be happy. "She's not coming." Understanding bloomed in Naruto's chest. He let out a gasp, which she must've heard, because the next moment her golden eyes were fixed to his, gluing him in place. "Now you see? This is war and only those strong enough to kill those who need to be killed will survive." She released her gaze on Naruto, the bright grin once more across her face. "Ready to go then? Sasuke-baby? Juliet?"

For a split second, Naruto forgot what she'd just said and was about to rage on her that his name was _most certainly not _Juliet. But then she was gone, disappeared out the door with a giggle. He made to follow her, stopped by a sharp grip on his sleeve. Sasuke.

"Naruto. I won't leave you." The dark eyes were staring straight into his soul. "We stick together and neither of us will die. Understand?" The blond nodded dumbly. "Good." The grip on his shirt dropped. "Then let's go." Together, they followed Rei.

* * *

The rooftops wound up being too crowded with the dead for a true escape. The five living jumped into the nearest apartment building, and holed themselves inside one that was cleared of all creatures, living and dead. Four of them were sitting in the kitchen, after blocking the door with the living room couch, waiting for the all clear from Tattoo Face.

Right on cue, he walked in. "All windows were boarded up, nothing in closets or drawers or bathrooms or anything."

"Did you check under the beds for monsters too?" Pink Hair asked condescendingly.

Tattoo Face flushed a bit under her glare. "Of course I checked under the beds. I'm not stupid." But he flopped down in the chair next to Hinata anyways. "Now what, genius?" This was directed to Naruto.

The blond glared right back at Tattoo Face, his patience waning. "Well since we were followed here, Tattoo Face, we have to wait until at least some of them forget where we are before we can move out."

Tattoo Face met Naruto glare for glare. "My name's Kiba, idiot, not _Tattoo Face_. And I'd appreciate if you called me by it."

"By Tattoo Face? Can do."

"I swear to god…"

"Guys. That's enough." Pink Hair brought their attention back to the present, and Naruto noticed he and…Kiba – Tattoo Face was a better name, really – were leaning over the table barely inches apart, looking for all the world as though they were about to rip each other's throats out. Which they were. "I have a plan."

All eyes turned to the pink haired girl, who took it as her queue to continue. "We're in an apartment right? And like most apartments in the city, there's a garage in the basement with a bunch of cars, full of gas and ready for the taking. My plan is we wait until just before sunset, before using the dark to our advantage and sneaking down there and stealing a car. We'll move faster that way than we would on foot."

"Yeah, just one problem with that, princess" – and he said _he_ hated being called by a nickname. Hypocrite. "None of us have keys to any cars left down there! And even if we could _find_ the keys from these people, we don't know what or where their car is."

She glared in response. "Lucky for you, I know how to hotwire almost any vehicle." Ok, who was this girl? She had some insane strength, had become the resident medic after Hinata had twisted her ankle a few days ago, and now she was blurting out that she could hotwire cars –and not just cars; trucks, cars, busses, motorcycles, you name it. Without her, Naruto was sure they would've either been all dead or he and Sasuke would've ditched the other two ages ago.

"Ok, let's say this crazy plan works." It was his turn to be skeptical. "Then what?"

"A car is like a weapon, Naruto. And as long as we can get far enough away from the city, we can get gas and keep driving."

Kiba spoke up again. "So what? Now you can siphon gas too?" She responded by giving him a cold look that clearly said 'so what if I can?' which shut him up.

"We wait then, but not until sunset. We need at least an hour of light." Sasuke decided.

"Their vision will be impaired." Pink Hair argued stubbornly.

"They don't have vision." The raven continued coldly.

"What? How can you possibly –?"

"Trust us." It was Naruto's turn to look tormented. "They don't need light to see; that's just us. They find us by smell and sound. We need at least an hour's worth of daylight to get the car." She looked like she was going to respond, but the expression on Naruto's face must've made her change her mind. Instead, she just nodded.

"An hour of sunlight it is."

* * *

Sasuke and Rei fought about almost everything. Rei wanted to leave the city after the blockade that had been blocking the bridge exits was overrun by the dead. Sasuke, on the other hand, wanted them to wait it out. The raven turned out to be right; the minute those left living in the city caught wind the army was overrun, they made a break for it. The bridge was a war zone between humans and zombies for days.

Whatever Rei wanted, Sasuke opposed and vice versa. If it weren't for the fact the brunette was the closest thing Sasuke had left of family – until they found Itachi – Naruto was positive they would've abandoned her ages ago. Crippled in a sewer, if Sasuke's words were to be believed.

But their biggest fight wasn't about leaving the city or where to sleep for the night – which was an argument Naruto swore he'd kill someone if he heard again. No, their biggest fight was about Naruto.

It didn't start that way, not at first. It started the way most of their fights did: over the dead. Rei insisted they stay hidden in alleyways so they weren't seen when they travelled place to place. Sasuke disagreed.

"Those things can't _see_. They only hear us."

And thus it began.

Tired of hearing nothing but their constant bickering – and Naruto used to complain about Sasuke _not_ talking enough – the blond yelled in their faces that it didn't matter unless they wanted to test it out. He didn't really mean for them to take it seriously.

And they didn't. Not at first. After one too many ambushes, though, it was no longer something that 'didn't matter'. The argument from before escalated to the point Naruto almost had to pull them physically apart, and he ended up screaming in their faces that he'd do the experiment as long as they both shut the hell up.

That didn't make it better. Instead, he inadvertently ended up dragging himself into it. Now it wasn't about if they could 'see' or 'hear' or both or whatever. Now it was about if they were going to _let_ Naruto stand out and act as zombie bait. And he was arguing too. Yelling at Sasuke that it wasn't _his_ decision what Naruto did with his life. If he wanted to go around testing out insane theories, then it was his decision.

But the screaming didn't stop until Rei dealt the final blow. "If you're so sure they can't see him, then what's the harm of him standing silently somewhere?"

The raven glared daggers at that.

"Sasuke," Naruto lay a hand on his boyfriend's arm. "Do you trust me?"

"It's not about that."

"Of course it is. I agree with you. I was standing right in front that last one, and it didn't even acknowledge me until I said something." Sasuke wasn't really looking at him, so Naruto leaned in closer and dropped his voice. "I trust you, so please. Just…"

"Ok." He sighed. "Ok. Fine. Do what you want."

And that was how he found himself standing on a car in the middle of the street one night, zombies wandering aimlessly around him. For a while, he just stood there, waiting to see if any of them noticed him. When they didn't, he moved to plan two: the flashlight.

He turned the flashlight on and placed it under his chin, making the face parents used to scare children while camping. Nothing. So then he flashed the light on and off, on and off, until he was seeing stars. Still nothing. He waved it around a bit, shining it on their faces, trying to get a reaction. And the zombies just continued to wander the streets. But he noticed their noses upturned, as if they could sense something. A few of them were starting to wander his way. That was his queue.

He turned off the flashlight and made to place it in his backpack. This win went to Sasuke. At the moment he dropped the light into his bag, he realized he'd misjudged. The thing fell from his hand and clattered onto the roof of the car, turning itself on as it went. The light allowed him to see the approaching creatures, all of them moaning while they moved. He moved to the left; away from them. No such luck. Perhaps off the back? Nope; zombies there too.

The car shook, the light flashing back and forth on the faces of the undead below him. Great. Now they were climbing up. He couldn't catch a break, could he?

"Naruto!" That was Sasuke. A few of the creatures turned their attention behind them, where a second light was shining, showing the idiotic raven haired bastard, who seemed intent on getting eaten. He was banging the light on the hood of the car closest to him. "Run Naruto!"

The creatures surrounding his car were disappearing, except the one who was still trying to pull its way onto the roof. A few other stayed as well, their noses remaining upturned, and looking as if they weren't fooled by the distraction. Cue second idiot.

"Oy! You buckets of meat! Lookie over here! Aren't I tasty?" Rei was standing far from both Naruto and Sasuke, banging her own light on a car. The three of them had created a triangle of light, and Naruto could see just how many zombies were in the area. "Juliet! Off the car! Now!"

The driver's side was clear, but there was also minimal light in that area. Nevertheless, Naruto silently leapt off, and slunk back around into the light. He kept his distance from both Sasuke and Rei, watching the creatures slowly meander their way toward the new food sources. But a few of them turned their heads to where he was standing, and then they started walking toward him as well. There was only one explanation for that; they could smell as well as hear.

"Alright!" Rei shouted, slowly backing away, as the creatures walked with more purpose. Sasuke was doing the same. "On the count of three, we book it into that convenience store we were in earlier! Got it? One –"

"You're crazy, witch! We can't make it there with all these!"

"– Two –"

"Naruto, run now and don't look back! You hear me?!" But he didn't go. He wasn't going to just leave him there.

"THREE!"

And they were all running, howling zombies on their heels. Naruto was closest to the store – shit they'd closed the door – and made it in first, quickly followed by Sasuke, then Rei. He slammed the door behind them, just as the first of the undead crashed into it. The windows were boarded up still, the other doors barred from when they'd been in earlier. The blond grabbed the nearby broom handle and shoved it through the handle as Rei and Sasuke pulled one of the shelves in front of it.

The three of them collapsed, exhausted, against the wall, listening to the countless zombies continue to run into the building. "Well," Rei breathed finally. "That was fun."

The raven was up in an instant. He grabbed her by the collar, slamming her against the wall. "What the fuck were you thinking?! He could've died!" His voice was raised to a volume Naruto had only heard once before.

"He could've, but he didn't. You were right, Sasuke-chan. No need to rub it in."

His grip on her must've tightened because she started spluttering like she was choking on something. "Don't you dare." If someone could die from a murderous glare, Rei would've been long dead by now. As it was, he seemed to be doing a good job of actually killing her. It was time to intervene.

"Sasuke, I'm fine. Promise." He grabbed one of Sasuke's arms as he said this, trying to pull it back from the girl's throat. She was starting to turn blue.

"Shut up." He turned back to the girl who could've been his sister someday.

"Sasuke, stop." He tugged more insistently, pulling his arms off Rei's throat slightly. The girl gasped for air. "I'm ok. Nothing happened."

For a breathtaking moment, the raven glared at Naruto, saying nothing. "You might not have been. Don't go around offering to sacrifice yourself for an experiment, dobe." He dropped Rei without looking at her again.

The brunette dropped to the ground, coughing and clutching her throat. Naruto paused a second, considering following Sasuke but decided to let him continue venting his anger on the cereal aisle, before dropping to the ground beside Rei.

She let out one last cough. "He's just mad because he was worried about you."

Naruto stared down at the floor, rather than meet her eyes. "I know."

"I don't know why he went along with it to start. I guess he must trust you a lot." She let out a harsh, fake laugh.

Naruto nodded, still refusing to meet her eyes. "Yeah. He probably did."

"Hey," her voice was suddenly serious. Knowing this was a rarity, Naruto finally looked up into her golden eyes. "Take care of him, ok? He may seem" – she shrugged, not sure what word to use – "now, but he really does…care about you. You're lucky to be together through this."

Cold fear ran down his spine when he recalled the dreams he'd been having lately; dreams where it was Sasuke who grabbed him and pulled him into that apartment and tried to eat him. At least he _had_ Sasuke here. He couldn't imagine being in her position; unaware of if the person he cared for most was still alive somewhere. "We'll find Itachi, Rei. I promise."

She laughed again, the seriousness gone from her expression. "Don't promise things you can't predict, Juliet. It might not end up the way you think."

He ignored the nickname. "Ok, I don't promise. But we _will_ find him."

The laughter stopped. "I know," she said, seriousness returned to her voice. The grin returned a moment later. "After all he is an Uchiha, and those bastards are impossible to get rid of."

At that moment Sasuke chose to reappear, beckoning to Naruto to follow him. "Yeah." The blond stood up. "They really are."

* * *

The plan went wrong from the moment they exited the apartment. There were too many undead in the building. The five ran through the hallways, down the stairs, desperate to get to the car now that zombies had inevitably infiltrated that apartment.

They paused for breath at the bottom of the stairwell, listening to the creatures try to break in the door that was reinforced with a mop. There were simply too many of them.

"This isn't working," Kiba accused Pink Hair.

Naruto jumped to her defense immediately. Or maybe it was just that he didn't like the tattooed guy. "Well it's not like we can turn around, now can we? So how about you shut the fuck up and stop questioning other people's plans when you can never bother to come up with your own!"

Kiba's hand flew back and then forward as a fist, aimed at Naruto's face. Before the blond could even blink, the punch was stopped by Sasuke. The raven glared coolly down at the tattooed face. "I've tolerated you and your whimpering girlfriend thus far. But you lay a _finger_ on Naruto, and I will personally ensure you're eaten by those creatures." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it held their attention. Reluctantly, Kiba lowered his fist. "Good. Now listen. Based on how many were above, it's likely there are more down in the basement. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to find out. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to open this door, and we're going to run."

"Are you kidding –" Kiba started, a cold gaze stopping him.

"We're going to run, because even though there are more in the open, we can run faster out there. I recall seeing an abandoned RV from the roof. Assuming it has gas, we can use it to escape. The doors were closed from what I can tell."

"And what if it doesn't have gas?" Pink Hair asked warily.

"Then we sit in there and come up with a new plan." She nodded.

Naruto looked around at everyone's face. Kiba looked skeptical, but said nothing. Hinata looked terrified – what was new, really? – and Pink Hair just looked determined. Sasuke had a blank expression on his face; one Naruto had seen far too often recently. He met the raven's eyes with a set look of his own, and wrapped his fingers around the door handle. A quick nod from Sasuke, and he threw the door open, all five of them tumbling out at once.

They flat out sprinted from the stairwell, through the entryway of the building, and out into the street. The creatures heard and smelled them instantly, stumbling after them in what was their own form of running. True to Sasuke's word, there was an abandoned RV with closed doors somewhere near the entrance. But there were at least 200 meters between them and that RV, and every zombie in the nearby vicinity was now aware of their presence.

It was Kiba who tripped. They should've known. Hinata screamed and tried to sprint back to him. But Pink Hair grabbed her arm and tugged her along, screaming for her to keep moving. And despite Naruto's hatred of the guy, the look on his face – one of utter fear – made him turn and run back. The zombies were closing in on them when Naruto grabbed Kiba. He used his katana to fight off the closest of them, but there were still too many, and Kiba was limping like he was hurt.

He thought about what a joke it was to die for someone he didn't even like, when a second katana swung into view, slicing the zombie that was about to bite him clean through the head. Its body collapsed, revealing Sasuke standing behind it. "Move!" His eyes were wild, showing more expression than Naruto was used to. He half heaved Kiba onto his back, and half stumbled half ran the rest of the way to the RV. Hinata reached down and helped him lift Kiba into the RV. Naruto raised himself in and turned around. Sasuke was flat out sprinting toward them. He barely had time to get out of the way before the raven made a flying leap into the vehicle, slamming the door behind him. His eyes were still crazy when he approached Pink Hair. "Please tell me there's gas."

A roar of the engine answered that question. "Three quarters of a tank." She turned to the rest of them, Hinata sitting and supporting Kiba in her arms, Naruto sprawled on the floor. "Sit down and buckle up. We're getting the fuck out of here." A squealing of the tires drowned out the wailing of the creatures outside, and the five of them drove off into the sunset.

* * *

They were in a hospital, looking for supplies to set Naruto's recently broken wrist – it was broken while fighting off a 300 pound zombie during the last onslaught – when they saw him. Itachi. Or rather, what was left of him.

When Naruto had promised Rei they would find Itachi, he hadn't quite meant they would find him…like this. The look of horror on Rei's face when she realized what she was looking at was bested only by Sasuke's own look of disbelief. "Niisan…" The raven muttered, practically falling to his knees.

Naruto caught him as the _thing_ that used to be Itachi stumbled up, walking right into the glass door they were standing behind. It moved its lips, leaving a stain of blood and god knows what else. Naruto shoved them back until they ran into one of the supply shelves, silently watching as more of the things gathered around the door, moaning and bumping the glass, but not doing anything to actively try and get in the room.

Sasuke was staring slack-jawed at the creature; Rei broke out of Naruto's grip and wandered deeper into the room, presumably to make sure it was clear.

He should've known hospitals were a bad choice. Hadn't the running joke through this whole thing been that Naruto was the one who played all those zombie games before this? Shouldn't he have remembered such a crucial detail? But he hadn't. And now, they were trapped inside one of the supply rooms on the fourth floor with no way out.

"What I don't get," Sasuke began in a shaky voice, "is why he was here. It doesn't make any sense." His face never left the glass door. Naruto reached out and grasped the raven's left hand, threading their fingers together. He thought it was obvious; the overprotective brother had snuck into the city to check on Sasuke and was probably swarmed by too many of them before he could find him. He didn't say any of this though. Sasuke would think it was his fault. And it wasn't; that was just who Itachi was.

He was the kind of brother who confronted Naruto before their first date, threatening to castrate him if anything were to happen to his precious little Sasuke. Itachi hovered around whenever Naruto and Sasuke stayed at the brothers' apartment for the evening to cook dinner and watch a movie. At first Naruto had been annoyed with it, but upon closer observation, he realized it was just Itachi's way of showing affection. It probably had something to do with the two of them losing their parents at such a young age; they only had each other.

But not anymore. Now the only people Sasuke had was his dead brother's fiancé and Naruto. And right now, with all the creatures mobbing around the entrance that was at risk too.

"Sasuke," he spoke slowly. "We need to find some way out of here." But Sasuke didn't even blink.

"I just don't understand." The raven was still staring straight ahead. "He would've been safe. He just…He just had to stay…" Sasuke's voice was slowly raising its pitch, the creatures outside catching onto it. The moaning increased, the glass starting to shake from how much they were pounding on it.

"Calm down. Hey, it's ok."

"It's not ok, Naruto!" He was finally acknowledged. "None of this is _ok_!" More of the creatures were mobbing directly in front of the door, drawn by the sound.

"Sasuke…" Naruto pleaded miserably.

At that moment, the blond felt something shove past him, walking up to the glass. It was Rei. And it looked like she was carrying a fire extinguisher. Something akin to panic ran through his bloodstream.

"Rei, stop!" So much for yelling at Sasuke to calm down.

The brunette turned and glanced at him. "We need to get out of here, right?" Fuck. He could _not_ deal with two suicidal maniacs right now.

Before he was even aware of it, his body had moved over to her. His hand was on her arm, trying to keep it at bay. "You don't want to do this."

"Do what? Distract them so you guys can get out?" She met his gaze, challenging him. But no matter what expression she masked herself with, Naruto could still see the clean tracks down her cheeks; proof she was affected by the situation.

He lowered his voice, not sure if Sasuke was even aware of their presence anymore; the raven had gone back to staring in a strangely detached way at the door. "I can't let you do that."

"Fuck you, Naruto" – if he weren't so sure she'd lost her mind, he'd probably have appreciated her calling him by his name – "you don't own me." She wrenched her arm out of his grip. "And I can do what I want. I'm not crazy."

"I never said you were." He continued whispering, despite her raised voice. The last thing he wanted was for Sasuke to start yelling again. The creatures outside were getting more and more insistent as it was. "I'm just saying that you need to be rational here."

"Rational?!" Her shriek was accompanied by a sickening cracking noise. In unison they flipped their vision to the glass. The zombies were getting in, and they knew it. If possible, their efforts increased. "From the looks of it," the ice in Rei's voice brought his attention back to her face. She was staring at the window ten feet or so from the door. "You need me."

The puzzle clicked into place. "The window. You're gonna break the window."

"Glad to see you're smarter than my precious little brother-to-be said you were."

He ignored the jab. "And then what? You're just gonna…jump out of it?"

Another crash caused them both to jump, the glass cracking further. "Bingo."

"You know what? I take it back. You _are_ crazy."

She didn't respond, just walked to the window, staring at it as if calculating something.

"And how are you even gonna do this? It's taking fifty thousand zombies to just crack the glass over there."

"Don't be such a drama queen, lover boy," she mumbled absently. "Besides, they don't have the advantage of having a real brain anymore." Her focus reappeared. "Right. Step back." She did so as she said it.

"No." He planted himself firmly between her and the window. "I won't let you do this."

"Listen, Naruto, and listen good." Her eyes flashed, suddenly serious. "There's only one way out of here for more than one person and it's that door. I have – what, 30 seconds? – to get out of this window and into the hallway before they hear me and chase me. And then they're going to start coming in. If I make a ton of noise, you and your man-candy over there can get out safe and sound, alright? Now we don't have a lot of time, so I suggest you stop questioning me, and get the fuck out of my way."

Understanding hit Naruto so hard, he thought he'd been punched in the gut. "You don't want to live." He stepped forward when she averted her eyes. "I'm right, aren't I? You wanted to find Itachi so badly, and now that he's dead you want to join him."

"Don't."

"And what about Sasuke? You're the only family he has left."

"He has you."

"What?"

Her eyes met his once more. "He has you. He doesn't need me. He doesn't _want_ me. He never did."

"That's not true…" He wanted to tell her how he _knew_ Sasuke was just being a jerk because he didn't know how to act around people he cared about. But she wasn't letting him.

"Stop, ok? Just stop. This is my choice. Now are you going to let me do this, or not?" A shattering sound came from behind them; a pair of lips was now worming their way through the broken area, reaching for flesh of any kind. If this continued, they'd be inside any second.

Naruto stepped to the side.

"Thank you."

He turned and started walking back to Sasuke, ready to drag the raven out of the room if it killed him.

"Juliet." Rei's voice called his attention one last time. "You're good for him, you know. Don't let him turn into that, ok?" She paused a moment. "And don't let me, either. Got it?"

The blond nodded. Rei gave him a smile that looked somewhat relieved. "Good." She turned back to the window. "See you in Hell."

The plan worked better than either of them could've dreamed. Rei was able to get out and ran screaming down the halls, causing all the creatures to chase after her. Sasuke was still in some kind of shock when Naruto pulled him out of the room, but he managed to drag the raven down the hallway and out the door without encountering anymore of those creatures. He set Sasuke in the car they'd hijacked earlier that day, telling him to sit there until he returned, before running back in the hospital.

It was something he never should've done. He found Rei there, surrounded by countless bodies with crushed skulls. But there was one in particular still approaching her, and she'd frozen in place. Itachi. He should've known. The creature was almost upon her when he finally acted. He slammed his katana into the wall and shouted until it had turned and was advancing on him. He backed up, not doing an effort to fight off his oncoming attacker. This was Rei's demon.

He'd almost given up all hope she'd ever fight him off, when a resounding crack! filled the air, and Itachi crumpled on the ground, no longer recognizable. Rei was standing in his place, panting. Their eyes met, and she collapsed.

Naruto was at her side instantly. "Hey it's ok. Sasuke's ok. He's in the car, waiting."

"I'm not going."

He was shaking his head. "No. No. You're his only family. He _needs_ you –"

"I was bit, Naruto."

That shut him up.

"I'm sorry. There were so many of them…I wasn't sure which one." But that was a lie. It was Itachi who'd bit her. What other one would she have let get so close?

"Let me see."

"What? No."

"Let me see." His voice held no room for argument. With a sigh she thrust her arm forward. He pulled her sleeve up, gasping at the amount of blood there. The area around the bite was already starting to blacken. She didn't have long. When he looked back up at her, her face had paled, and she was sweating. "No…"

"Naruto." It took him a second to realize she was pleading with him. "Please." But he couldn't do it. Not to the last family Sasuke had. Not to his own friend. "Do it."

"I can't."

She was nodding, her fingers scratching at the area around the bite. "You can. You can and you will. Please." The begging was worse, because now it was accompanied by tears. "Let me die before I kill anyone else I love. Please, Naruto."

It was the wetness on his cheeks that alerted him to his own tears. He didn't even realize he was standing until the look of despair on her face changed to one of relief. Why was she so relieved? He looked down. Oh. He was holding his katana, already unsheathed. He walked around behind her, as she shifted her position to a kneeling one. With shaking hands, she pulled the hair out of the way of her neck.

"Make it quick, ok?" Her voice was shaking. "I don't…I don't want to be in pain." It was barely more than a whisper, but the knife that had buried itself in his heart seconds before twisted.

"Ok." He whispered back.

"And take care of Sasuke for me. He needs someone like you in his life. You make him better." It all came out in a rush, like she was trying to say everything before she turned. Right on cue, she doubled over, coughing and spitting blood.

He waited until the fit was over. "I will. I promise." She just nodded, before doubling over again, vomiting blood on the floor. She sounded like she was in pain, and he could hear the inhuman noises start to emerge from her throat. Suddenly it was too much. "Thank you, Rei," he gasped out. "I'm so sorry." And he lunged forward, thrusting the blade through the back of her head, stopping the coughing in its tracks.

Naruto stood there gasping for breath for what felt like ages. After he finally managed to stop the constant flow of tears, he yanked the sword from the back of her head. Rei's body collapsed lifelessly next to Itachi's. Not completely aware of his actions, Naruto wiped the blood from his katana on her pants and sheathed it. He gave one last look to the last of Sasuke's family, lying together on the floor of some random hospital, and walked out of the building.

He had a promise to keep.

* * *

For the first time, they made it out of the city. The group stopped the RV at a gas station near a park. After checking the area for any dead roaming, Pink Hair and Kiba worked together to siphon some gas, Hinata hovering over them. Sasuke had wandered off toward the park when they got there, and the blond found himself following him.

"Not gonna join the group of friendship over there?" He asked jokingly when he'd finally caught up to the raven.

Sasuke didn't respond.

"Yeah, I can't stand them either. Especially Tattoo Face. You kn–"

He was cut off by the sudden feeling of the raven's lips on his. Sasuke had his hands fisted in the back of Naruto's spikes and was pulling them together like he needed the blond to breathe. Naruto responded, pulling the other in closer to him by his shirt, deepening the kiss.

When they broke for air, the blond gazed off into the stars, allowing Sasuke to bury his face in the crook of his neck. They stood still like that for a moment, until a sharp pain caused Naruto to jump a little. He pushed Sasuke away and glared at him.

"Hey, what was that for?"

Again, the raven didn't respond.

"Sasuke, what's up with you tonight? You seem…upset."

"What happened the night we found Itachi?" Sasuke spoke suddenly, rubbing one of his arms.

Naruto averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his head absently. "Where's this coming from?"

"You've never told me what happened. You always tend to just avoid the subject. And I keep trying to think back to that night, and all I can ever remember is running into that storage closet, and the next thing I knew we were in a car, driving off toward the edge of the city."

Uncomfortable. That was the best way to describe his feelings. "I didn't tell you the truth."

"I gathered that."

Naruto _really_ didn't want to talk about this. "Can't we talk about this later? They've gotta be done filling the tank by now. Come on, let's go back…" The blond turned back toward the gas station.

"No." He looked back at Sasuke. "We have to talk about it now." And Naruto wasn't really sure what happened, but one second Sasuke was glaring at him, and the next he was doubled up on himself, coughing.

He was over there in a flash. "Sasuke?! Are you ok?"

The raven gained control over himself. "I'm fine." He looked back up at the blond. "Tell me what happened. Now."

Maybe it was the demanding tone of voice which could only be achieved by an Uchiha, or maybe it was the cold dread that had buried itself somewhere in Naruto's stomach. Either way, his mouth started moving, and he couldn't stop himself. "I promised her we'd find Itachi. I never should've promised. Maybe then, we wouldn't have found him. But I did."

Sasuke responded with a single raised eyebrow. Having dated the raven for over a year, Naruto knew it meant 'you're rambling, and you need to stop'. He took a deep breath and started over. "The night we went to the hospital, we saw Itachi. Do you remember?"

A nod from the Uchiha was all he needed to continue.

"I think you went into shock or something. That's probably why you don't remember anything, actually." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I thought you were worse off, because she – Rei – just kinda disappeared. Then the next thing we knew, they were trying to get in" – Sasuke didn't need to know it was because of him – "and she was there, ready to create a distraction. I – I didn't know what to do, so I let her. I had to get you out of there." He was starting to ramble again. Breathe. In. Out. Ok. Once more. "When you were safe, I went back in to find her, but it was already too late."

"What do you mean it was too late?" The raven, who had been quiet throughout the entire explanation, spoke in a soft voice.

"I – she – um," he stuttered again. "She was already…turning." Naruto swallowed hard. "I promised her I wouldn't let her change into one of those things. I…I had no choice. That's all. Really." Sasuke didn't need to know the details.

Naruto thought the raven would hit him, hurt him for killing the last of his family. But Sasuke did no such thing. Instead he nodded. "Thank you." If he hadn't known the raven so long, he would've missed the hurt tone in his voice. That, combined with the renewed coughing fit, made Naruto gather the other in his arms.

So he was surprised when Sasuke pushed him away. "Don't." The raven started coughing again, hacking as if he were expelling a lung from his body. Naruto reached for him, only to be swatted away once more.

That's when he made the mistake of looking at Sasuke's arm.

The dread he'd been feeling before solidified and spread to his chest until he was positive he couldn't breathe. There, on the arm Naruto had fallen asleep holding so many times before, were blackened teeth marks. Sasuke must've seen where the blond's attention fell, because the raven stepped back.

"Stay away from me, Naruto." He really didn't need to say anything; Naruto was frozen in place.

"You…how…when…?" The blond wasn't sure if his eyes were open or closed anymore; he couldn't see anything.

A dry laugh came from the direction he last remembered Sasuke standing. "Saving that asshole. Good thing I wasn't already injured, or it might've spread sooner." The laugh turned into a third coughing fit, complete with retching noises. Something was prickling against his lower lids just listening to it. Sasuke spoke again, once that stopped. "Listen, Naruto. I don't expect you to be able to do the same for me you did for Rei. You should go, now."

But he couldn't, could he? He couldn't just…Rei was one thing. But Sasuke? No way in Hell. There had to be another way. There had to be something…else.

"I'm not leaving you, Sasuke." His voice came from another dimension. How had he spoken? He wasn't even sure he was alive anymore.

"You have to. Please, Naruto." This time, when the raven started heaving, it was accompanied by growling. Those sounds seemed to trigger something in Naruto, and suddenly he was fully in control of his senses. He found himself standing barely five feet from the raven, fists clenched at his sides. Something wet trickled down his cheeks, and he realized he was crying.

"There's some other way, Sasuke. Come with us. I can fix this…"

But Sasuke wasn't responding. He was still doubled over.

"Please…Let me fix this."

A whistle came from behind them, followed by Pink Hair's voice. "Guys! The tank is full. Let's go before the walkers find us…Shit." She'd seen Sasuke.

Naruto turned just as she pulled out her gun, pointing it at the raven. "I can fix this," he repeated.

"Naruto." She spoke slowly, as one would to a wounded child. "Get to the RV."

He approached her, falling to his knees. "Please. Not Sasuke. Not Sasuke."

She didn't even look down at him. "It's too late for him. Get up before more of them come."

She didn't see. She didn't see that Sasuke wasn't one of them. That he _couldn't_ be one of them. He considered begging again, but a snarling behind him drew his attention. It was Sasuke. Or more accurately: it was what was left of Sasuke.

The raven stood slowly, growling and glancing to and fro, as if it knew where Naruto had been standing moments before. The blond let out a choked sob, inadvertently drawing its attention. With a howl, it stumbled in their direction. Naruto watched in horror as the man he once knew half ran at him.

Then a shot rang out, and the raven collapsed over on itself. A grip on his arm, and he felt the ground beneath his feet. Pink Hair was hauling him back toward the RV. A scream came from the gas station.

"Shit! They must've heard the shot!" And they were running, Naruto being hauled by the pink haired girl.

He wasn't sure what happened next. He thought he saw flashes of Kiba being dragged away, followed by a screaming Hinata. Pink Hair yelled something in his face, before slapping him and shoving him down. The next thing he knew, they were moving.

When he regained his senses, he found himself on the floor of the RV. He got up and moved to sit in the passenger seat. Pink Hair didn't look at him. He had no idea how long he was out of it, but faint traces of pink were showing on the horizon.

For a while neither of them said anything. Finally, she broke the silence. "I'm sorry." Just two words, spoken with little to no emotion, but he felt his shoulders relaxing. She knew how he felt, after all.

"Thank you," he responded nearly five minutes later. He stared out the windshield at the sunrise, mind blank. Absently, he brought his hand to his neck, scratching the skin there. For some reason, it itched.

* * *

_I bet you all want to kill me for yet another angst filled fic. Ah, well. It was only supposed to be horror, but then all these feelings wound their way into the story and...well you read it. Probably. Hey at least it was longer than you're used to. So that's good._

_And in case you're wondering about Rei: no, I didn't use the same one from High School of the Dead. Granted, I loosely based her looks (vague as they were) on her, and I stole her name (obviously), but the personality not at all. Rei is an OC, not someone from another anime. I know, I'm normally not all that creative with my OCs (I tend to avoid the shit out of them), but I really wanted to put her in this story for some reason. She created herself while I was writing and magically appeared in that apartment. And then I couldn't get rid of her even if I wanted to._

_So what are your thoughts on Rei? Or the story in general? Reviews are love. Happy (not quite) Halloween!_


End file.
